


Misdirection at Malfoy Manor

by Dallas



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Post-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-08 17:42:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15248526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dallas/pseuds/Dallas
Summary: Lucius returns home from the battle at the Ministry, where Narcissa waits.





	Misdirection at Malfoy Manor

'They saw you,' she said.

The words were harsh. Loud in the otherwise empty sitting room, but delivered with a hushed tone. She had never once raised her voice. Allowing the others around her to do so gave her the perfect opportunity to observe and assess. Instead she delivered her words carefully and with precision. Where her sister's words could puncture with sudden force like a knife to the stomach, Narcissa's were more akin to a Mediwitch's wand carving through layers of flesh to perform surgery. Knowing the exact firmness to achieve the desired result without unforeseen repercussions. She was in control.

'They will not dare come after me,' he hissed. 'Their little band of vigilantes. He had school children fighting for him, far from Hogwarts, in the middle of the night. It hardly even needs the right words in the right ears to make sure he is vilified for that.'

'School children, perhaps, and Aurors. Alastor Moody-'

'Mad-Eye, is what they call him now. Hardly-'

'Enough,' she snapped.

The room stilled around them. The only two portraits in the room had been empty since he returned. Even the clocks seemed to wait for her next words. The chill of the night crept into the room, eager to embrace the frost that lay between them. She rose from her chair, pulling her robe more firmly around her slender frame, arms crossed tight. He stood only a few feet from her, looking dishevelled and unsure of himself. Scared, perhaps. It reminded her of the last time he had put her in this position. The shrill screeching still ringing in her ears from her sister's trial. One cousin missing, the other - surprisingly - splashed across the papers as a murderer and sent along with her. Her family. Bellatrix had preened and baited the Wizengamot. Sirius had vehemently declared his innocence. Lucius, however, had returned home.

She had told herself that it was for the best. Their son needed a Father. Selfishly, to an extent, she needed him too. There would be nobody left to call him a coward. Any who remained would be in the same position as him or hidden away from the accusations to begin with. Yet here he was again, snivelling about plots and downfalls as he tried to hide from his own. This was his doing. They had all chosen this path when they took the mark.

Her skin remained untouched.

'You had your chance, Lucius,' she said. His eyebrow raised and she held up a hand to stop him from speaking. 'You took the easy way out once before and I did not question it. You were where you should be, at home with your son.' The words "with me" lingered on the tip of her tongue only to be swallowed as her eyes met his. Icy determination clear within the sapphire hues.

'You can't be serious-'

'I think, perhaps, you've underestimated me enough,' she said. 'This is where it ends, my darling. You will go when they come for you. No tricks. No pleas. Tell them what they want to know, and go quietly to your fate with your head held high. Draco is almost a man now. A few more years and he will take your place. I will not have him raised by a coward.'

'How dare you-' His hand rose between them sharply. The back of it angled to strike. Instead he froze.

Her arms uncrossed, her wand held firmly in her grip. Worldless spells a particular talent he had always admired her for but failed to recognise as anything more than something to boast about. 'Since our betrothal you have spoken often of how great your name is, how strong your lineage. You forget you married a Black. We were here long before your House was built and I will remain long after you are gone. Draco may have that name, but he is my son. You are a fool if you think I would not do anything, sacrifice anyone, to protect him.'

Both their heads turned towards the door as a series of loud bangs echoed within the entrance hall. The time had come. Of course they wouldn't have waited for the morning. Not if his face had been seen by so many. Certainly not when he had escaped them the first time. She removed the charm and slid her wand back inside the folds of her robe, moving swiftly to answer the door.

'Where was this bitch when we wed? The Dark Lord would have prized you above your sister,' Lucius sneered, stretching his arm.

She turned back to him, paused in the doorway. 'I was here all along. A living, breathing, woman. No prize,' she said. 'I simply know when to play my hand. Someone had to run this household and keep you in the papers. You were the one sitting pretty all these years. I put so much work into you, darling. But with my son I was able to start from the beginning. If you'd just listened, we would not be in this mess.'

Another series of impatient knocks echoed through the house.

'Your carriage awaits,' she told him. Turning sharply on her heel she left him to consider her words in the few minutes of freedom he had left.


End file.
